The Big Bash

The Big Bash is the Friday night all-star improv show at Hideout Theatre & Coffeehouse, 617 Congress, in downtown Austin. It's been running for more than 13 years, which is a long time for a show that makes everything up on the spot. The format is a showcase of professional improv performers working through a mix of games, scenes and stories, all built from the audience's suggestions.

Back in 2013, when the Austin Chronicle interviewed Hideout's Roy Janik, he said his hope for the show was that it would become something you "have to do" when you come to Austin. It's a good place to start if you're new to improv, because it pulls together a rotating cast of the city's working performers rather than a single fixed troupe. The variety comes from the format itself—games, scenes and stories—so the energy shifts throughout the night.

The venue is part of the draw. Hideout Theatre & Coffeehouse is downtown Austin's oldest indie coffee house, with two theatres—one upstairs and one downstairs—that stage films, stand-up, performance art and bands. It's picked up several Best of Austin Awards over the years, including Critics Picks for Best Kid-Friendly Theatre and Readers Poll for Best Club for Teen Performers in 2015, and Critics Picks for Best Content-Rich Venue in 2011. That variety carries over into the programming, with the improv running alongside the coffee house side of the business.

The Big Bash runs on Fridays, with tickets starting at $10. It's a long-running fixture of the downtown scene, and since it's an all-star showcase, the lineup changes from week to week.